


The Rooftop

by sgtblue



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:21:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28280799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgtblue/pseuds/sgtblue
Summary: V makes the decision of his life.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand & V, Male V & Jackie Welles, Misty Olszewski & Male V, Misty Olszewski/Jackie Welles, Panam Palmer/V
Kudos: 39





	The Rooftop

Johnny was sitting on the edge of the rooftop when Misty and V arrived. A shitty plastic table was sat between two equally shitty plastic chairs in front of him. V laid the gun and the pills down on the table as he slowly took a seat. 

“I come here when I need to get away, be alone with my thoughts,” Misty said, as she stared at the cityscape in front of them.

“She’s onto something,” V’s head perked to look at Johnny, “ought to sit, mull through some shit yourself.” He didn’t bother saying anything to respond, the rockstar knew what he was thinking. They had boundaries, though. Johnny wouldn’t tell V about intrusions into his brain. It was just too… eerie for V to handle. And it allowed for some form of conversation to exist between the two.

“Be alone with my thoughts?” V turned to Misty as he leaned back in the chair. “Near unachievable these days.” Misty gave a little chuckle. “So what’d Jackie decide up here?” He asked. Jackie. The man who had saved V’s life, in more ways than he had ever known. And the man who had ruined it, in a way that he would never know.

“Oh, you know. ‘Gonna be a legend in this city!’” V smiled. That was Jackie, alright. Major League Jackie. V’s chest tightened as he thought of it. He had watched Jackie’s life drain out of his body. He was helpless to stop it, but at the same time, was the only person who could have stopped it. If only they hadn’t taken that stupid fucking heist job. If only Dexter DeShawn hadn’t ever shown up. 

If only Martin hadn’t merged the Bakkers with Snake Nation. What a fucking idiot. 

That was all in the past, though. All that mattered now was the rockstar-shaped tumor in V’s head. 

“I’m… gonna leave you two alone now.” Misty stood, and slowly walked down the stairs back to the elevator. “Take your time.”

Johnny waited a few moments after Misty had disappeared to speak. “Fuckin’ scared me, know that? Thought you were on your way out.” There was a smile in his voice, it sounded like relief. 

“No, still here.”

“For now.” Johnny nodded. “Y’know, you should call her. Say goodbye”

V thought about it. “Worst case scenario, that what you expect?”

“No, but whatever you decide, risk’s gonna be high. If things don’t go our way-”

“I get it,” V interrupted Johnny. 

“Just fuckin’ do it. Pills can wait.  _ I  _ can wait.”

V nodded, and dialed up Panam.

Panam. One of the only truly good things to come out of this godforsaken mess. What he felt for her… he had never felt for anyone else. Ever. He was in love with her. Truly in love. For the first time in his life. And he didn’t know if she felt the same. 

It was the night before they stole the Basilisk that he realized he really loved her. As they fell asleep in each other's arms by the fire, he remembered thinking,  _ This is what it feels like. _ He wasn’t sure if she reciprocated all of it, but he knew she did at least a little. Their morning in the Basilisk.  _ Jesus, that was only two days ago _ . It had felt like a century.

“Mmm, hey.” Her voice was groggy, like she had just woken up. She probably had. All the same, a warmth spread through V’s body, strong enough that it would have tanned Johnny… If he was real.

“Panam, hey,” V said. 

“Do you know what time it is?”

“I’m sorry to wake you.” V’s chest tightened. He was going to cry. “I just-” He had to swallow to prevent a sob from escaping his throat. “I wanted to hear your voice.”

“V? Okay, what is going on?” She was awake now. He heard through the phone what sounded like the cot she was sleeping on creak as she sat up. 

“Dunno if we’re gonna see each other again.” Tears were coming out of his eyes now. Johnny had turned away, out of respect for his privacy maybe.

“What?! No, you know what. Fine, fuck off,” she spat through the phone. 

“No, no, not like that.” V heard Johnny chuckle, and he couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

“Then what?” 

“I-” Any hint of a smile was gone now, replaced once again with the pain. “There’s something I have to do. Gonna be high risk, big time. But I have to do it.”

“What is it?”

“It’s not for comms, not really.”

“Then shut up, and tell me where you are. In the city?”

“Yeah, but-”

“Then plant your butt somewhere and wait, I’m on my way.” He heard her stand. Footsteps on the other side meant she was walking to her footlocker to put something on.

“No, Panam. I can’t wait anymore. That’s the problem.”

“This have something to do with what you were telling me before?” 

V’s silence was apparently enough of an answer for her. “I’ll tell you one thing, V. There’s always a way out. Here’s what you need to do. Take a few deep breaths. Then rethink all of this, hard. And then you call me back. Do you know why? Because whatever you’re going through, you don’t have to go through it alone.”

“Panam-”

“End of discussion.” And she was gone. V rubbed the tears from his eyes. 

“You missed that.” 

V jumped in his seat. Johnny had walked behind him. “Missed what?” 

“The camaraderie. The willingness to get behind you no matter what shit you’re in.” 

“I… I guess. But she’s different.”

“I know. Trust me, V, I know.” He thought of Rogue. Of the flashes of her and Johnny’s “date”. How it ended up. He only saw flashes of it, but that and Johnny’s mood after were enough to know it wasn’t good. “Was good you called. Wish I’d had the chance to.” Johnny was sitting on the ledge again, facing V. “Come a long way to get here, haven’t we? Just think, it all started in a fuckin’ landfill.”

“Mhm. Then you tried to kill me.” V looked upon the memory fondly. 

“See, exactly what I mean. Trying to save your sorry ass now. You can let me try to do that, or you can try Panam and her tarmac rats, but their lives will lie heavily on your soul. Or you take Arasaka’s deal. But then, you’ll have your own soul on your conscience.”   
V’s eyes wandered to the table. To the pistol. Black, sleek. A timeless design. “Or we can end this, right here. Right now.”

Johnny materialized on the seat that Misty had used when she had brought them up here. “That’s not an option, V. You’re not a quitter.”

“Why not?” It wasn’t a rhetorical question. 

“You know why not. Think about Panam. How would she react if you offed yourself? What about Judy? She lost her best friend to suicide only the other week, and now she’ll lose you? And River. Do you think he’d approve if you went out without a fight? No, V. Not an option.”

V nodded. “I’m gonna ask Panam for help.”

Johnny shifted in his chair. V knew he wouldn’t like the idea. Johnny knew too well what it was like to pull someone you loved into danger, but she was the only person V truly trusted. Her and the Aldecaldos. “You absolutely sure? No goin’ back on this, you know.”

In response, V reached to the table. He picked up the blue pill. The last of the omega-blockers Vik had given him. “Johnny… You- You’re…” V struggled to get the words out. He felt a cold, metal hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. 

“I know, brother.” 

V nodded, and took the pill. It would be the last time he would see Johnny. Until they reached Mikoshi, at least. He called Panam.

“Ready to talk?” She asked.

“Ready.”


End file.
